Caerphilly county borough now has one of the highest rates of coronavirus in the UK, Wales' heath minister has said.

The rate has now increased to 72.9 cases per 100,000 of the population.

Vaughan Gething said: "Of the 451 tests carried out by the mobile testing unit in Caerphilly on Saturday, 19 were positive, which indicates current transmission in the community.

"A further 488 tests were carried out on Sunday and a similar number yesterday. We are expecting the results shortly.

"The majority of the cases have been associated with people socialising without social distancing and in people returning from holiday abroad with coronavirus."

A group of friends who returned home from Ibiza spread coronavirus to 13 people after not socially distancing, Wales' health minister has said.

Vaughan Gething said the three people had come home from the Spanish island with Covid-19 last month.

"When they came home, one of the group passed the virus on to their partner and his father," he told the Welsh Government press conference.

"Another person in the group had a party the day after coming home and four people caught coronavirus.

"One of these then passed the virus on to their brother who then passed it to a friend by sharing a car. Another party guest passed it on to their sister, who in turn infected a friend on a night out.

"Within just a few days of the friends’ return home, 13 people had coronavirus."

Community testing is set to begin in parts of Rhondda Cynon Taff after an increase in cases in the area, the health minister has said.

In Caerphilly county borough - subject to a local lockdown from 18:00 BST tonight - targeted community testing is already in place after a spike in positive tests.

But at the Welsh Government's press briefing, Vaughan Gething said community testing was about to start in parts of the "lower Rhondda Valley", where there has been an increase in cases.

Visits to care homes are being stopped following an increase in cases across the area, with 20 positive cases recorded on Monday, and a total of 79 cases in the last seven days.

He said: "We’ve been carrying out about 6,500 tests every day.

"Targeted community testing has been introduced in Caerphilly and is just about to start in the lower Rhondda Valley where we are also seeing a rise in cases".

Health Minister Vaughan Gething says he's worried that coronavirus cases in younger people could spread in the community and affect older people.

Speaking ahead of Caerphilly county borough being placed under local lockdown at 18:00 on Tuesday, Mr Gething said while young people were likely to get "milder" strains of the illness, the risk to others was greater.

"We’re worried about the risk of the virus regaining its foothold in the community again and making the leap into more vulnerable groups and older age groups," he said.

"There’s usually a lag of a couple of weeks before we see people with coronavirus being admitted to hospital."

Image source, Welsh Government

A marked rise in coronavirus cases in September comes after an increase in "house parties", Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.

Speaking at the Welsh Government's press briefing, Mr Gething said the majority of cases were people under the age of 40.

Mr Gething said the increase was being driven by people bringing the virus back with them from holiday abroad and people socialising more but not following social distancing advice.

"We’ve seen an increase in house parties and indoor gatherings over the summer", he said.

"The virus is being transmitted within households and cases in workplaces as more people return to work".

The minister warned: "If cases continue to rise unchecked in this way, we will see a return to the situation we saw in April, with high numbers of people being admitted to hospital and intensive care for treatment.

"And, sadly, we will see a rise in the number of people dying from coronavirus again."

People are rushing to get tested for coronavirus after the announcement of Wales' first local lockdown, GPs have warned.

Caerphilly county borough is being placed in lockdown from 18:00 BST on Tuesday, following a spike in cases.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the queues at the pop-up test centre in Caerphilly town were "horrific", following the announcement.

Dr David Bailey, chairman of the BMA in Wales and a GP in Caerphilly, said people were being sent "across the UK" for tests.

One father, who lives in Caerphilly, told BBC Wales his partner was turned away after taking their two sons for testing on Tuesday morning.

"At 8am, there was a three hour queue, so she was told to go up to the new centre up in Penallta," he said.

“She made her way up there, and there were already hundreds of cars.

“She was waiting in the queue and she was told at that point that if she didn’t have ID for the children they couldn’t be tested – how are you going to have ID for children with you?”

Image source, Getty Images

The Welsh Government's weekly coronavirus briefing will be given today by Health Minister Vaughan Gething.

He is expected to outline more detail about the rules of the local lockdown in Caerphilly county borough he announced yesterday.

Questions have already been raised as to why schools and pubs are not being closed as part of the containment strategy.

We'll update you with the main points here - you can also watch proceedings live on BBC One Wales, on the BBC iPlayer, and via the Coronavirus Update video link at the top of this page from 12:30 BST.

Scaling back of freedoms will be "frustrating" for many people who have been abiding by the rules, the chief constable of Gwent Police has said.

From 18:00 BST no one will be allowed to enter or leave Caerphilly county borough without reasonable excuse, and people will not be allowed to meet loved ones indoors.

Gwent Police and Caerphilly council will be charged with making sure people do not break the rules.

Chief Constable Pam Kelly said she knew it was a "challenging time" for communities.

"Since the start of the pandemic we’ve all had to make significant changes to our way of life," she said.

“This will cause frustration for many, particularly those who are following the existing guidance closely, but we all now must do what we can to control the spread of this virus across Caerphilly."

She added: “Our officers will be out in the community, engaging and encouraging everyone to follow social distancing and the new restrictions coming into play."

On Monday, it was announced Caerphilly would be the first county in Wales to undergo a local lockdown.

From 18:00 BST on Tuesday, rules will be tightened following a spike in coronavirus cases, with 98 people testing positive in the past week.

For the 181,000 people living there, it means a number of things will change for the foreseeable future.

More details are expected from the Welsh Government later, but here's a guide to what you can and can't do.

Welcome to our live page coverage of the Welsh Government's weekly update on coronavirus.

Today attention will focus on the local lockdown being imposed on Caerphilly county borough from 18:00 BST tonight.

This follows a spike in cases which gives the area the highest coronavirus rate in Wales and one of highest in the UK.

Image source, Wales News Service